1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video device that is capable of discriminating the kind of cable connected to an output device, such as a video camera, an output switching method for a video device, and a cable discriminating method.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a video camera device such as a video device includes an HD video camera device that is capable of capturing images having high definition, and an SD video camera device that is capable of capturing images having standard definition.
The HD video camera device is provided with an output unit so that a captured image is output on a monitor such as a television receiver. Specifically, the HD video camera device is provided with an A/V output terminal that outputs a standard definition video signal (SD video signal) composed of a brightness signal S-Y, a color signal S-C, and a composite signal VIDEO and an audio signal having an R channel and an L channel, and a component output terminal that outputs a high definition component video signal (HD video signal) composed of a brightness signal Y, a first color signal Cb/Pb, and a second color signal Cr/Pr.
According to a first method that connects the HD video camera device with the monitor, a cable is connected with the A/V output terminal. In this case, one cable is used to output the SD video signal to the monitor device, display an SD definition video on the monitor device, and output an audio. Further, according to a second method, the cable is connected with the component output terminal. In this case, a cable for a video is connected with the component output terminal and a cable for an audio is connected with the A/V output terminal. Further, two cables are used to display the HD video signal on the monitor to output an audio.
However, there is a growing demand to reduce the number of element in the video camera device and reduce its size. Therefore, one jack is used for the output unit of the video camera device to serve as the A/V output and component output terminal. But, for the A/V output and component output terminals, when a terminal for the A/V output terminal and a terminal for the component output terminal are provided so as to correspond to the terminal for the composite video signal, the number of terminals is increased, which subsequently also increases the number of jacks for the A/V output and component output terminals.
Further, the SD video camera device includes only an A/V output terminal that is capable of outputting the SD image signal composed of the brightness signal S-Y, the color signal S-C, and the composite signal VIDEO and the audio signal having the R channel and the L channel, which is different from the HD video camera device. In contrast, even though the HD video camera device is provided with the A/V output and component output terminals, the HD video camera device has only one jack, which looks similar to the A/V output terminal of the SD video camera device.
However, since the HD video signal has a broader band than the SD video signal, a broadband cable is used for a cable that is connected to the component output terminal, which is different from the A/V output terminal. Further, the cable for the HD video signal is connected to an HD monitor device, and the cable for the SD video signal is connected to an SD monitor device. Therefore, in the case where the output unit of the HD video camera device is used as the A/V output and component output terminal, when the HD video camera device outputs the SD video signal, the cable may be undesirably connected to the component input terminal of the HD monitor device. In this case, in the HD monitor device, the SD video signal that is output from the HD video camera device is incorrectly displayed on the monitor. Likewise, when the output unit of the SD video camera device is connected to the component input terminal of the HD monitor device, the SD video signal output from the SD video camera device is incorrectly displayed on the monitor.
As a result, in the HD video camera device, when the terminal for the A/V output terminal and the component output terminal are commonly used, that is, one jack is shared for both terminals, it is preferable that the kind of cable that is connected to the output terminal is discriminated and a video signal to be output is changed accordingly. Further, in the SD video camera device, when the A/V output terminal is incorrectly connected to the component input terminal of the monitor, it is preferable to display a warning.